"Abandon" is a complete waste of time! It's a
flat, boring, extremely slow-moving thriller--minus the
thrills. I've never used this phrase before in writing
reviews, but you're better off watching paint dry. Words
can't explain how boring this movie is!
Katie
Holmes plays an ambitious, overachieving college student who
hopes to land a position in a big-time computer company.
After her boyfriend's (Charlie Hunnam) disappearance, she
continues to have flashbacks of him. A handsome,
charismatic detective (Benjamin Bratt), who also happens to be
a recovering alcoholic, investigates the boyfriend's
disappearance.
The
first 45 minutes is totally redundant, because it all builds
up to a plot point that was already given away in the
previews: the boyfriend hasn't disappeared after all!
A romance develops between Katie and Benjamin. Add on
lots of boring detective work, which does nothing in advancing
the story. There's very little conflict--or at least
none worth caring for. Not to mention the characters
aren't worth caring for.
The
only reason I'm giving this movie half a pop is because of the
decent plot twist at the end. Being that I had to fight
to stay awake throughout the film (even a double-shot of
espresso wouldn't have the power to keep me awake during this
borefest), I said to myself, "If there's even a halfway
decent plot twist, I'll give this movie a little bit of
credit." Well, the twist was surprising, keeping my
attention until the closing credits (which is about a total of
5 minutes). Even with an awful film like this, I
must give credit where credit's due. However, I'm almost
certain it will be on my list for Worst Movies of 2002.
The
cast is attractive, but not strong enough to transcend the
awful script. Then again, no cast would be strong
enough. Katie Holmes is charming as always, flashing her
radiant, girl-next-door smile. Benjamin Bratt is also
charming as always. Zooey Deschanel is a wasted talent
and so is the beautiful Gabrielle Union (of "Bring It
On" fame). I only have to criticize the casting of
Charlie Hunnam, who has zero acting talent and can't even make
an honest effort to nail down an American accent (him being
from the UK). I would go on and on about his terrible
performance, but technically he didn't ruin the film--the film
was already ruined.
I'm
usually pretty lenient when it comes to thrillers.
"Swimfan"
had its flaws, but it was very entertaining and I liked it a
lot. I'd much rather watch a flawed thriller that's
entertaining than a dull, pretentious thriller like
"Abandon." Please abandon this movie at all
costs!
